The Will to be Stronger
by Kagetsuki Tsukishiro
Summary: When Itachi left Konohagakure, Naruto had been too young to understand why but all he knew was that he had to get stronger so that he could defend Itachi's honour.


He was too young; too young to understand when he woke up, blue eyes opened wide, with Itachi by his bedside, staring at him with the coldest, dead expression that he had ever seen on the older boy's face as he fell to his knees, clinging onto the child's orange pyjamas as if it was his lifeline. He was still too young to understand why when the Uchiha left the village that night with nothing except the clothes on his back and the injuries that couldn't heal in a flash. He was too young to realise that when Itachi left while he slept, the bloody footsteps near his windowsill was the last trace of Uchiha Itachi within the high walls of Konohagakure.

Uchiha Itachi, protector and friend of Uzumaki Naruto.

The Third walked into Naruto's apartment the morning after Itachi left, broken and lost. He found the child sitting near the windowsill as if the blond was waiting for someone to come in through the window to play with him. The old man hugged Naruto tightly and apologised not once or twice but over and over again and the child was silent. He couldn't find the words to reply.

Eventually, the small child spoke up, "Will he come back?" he asked softly.

* * *

The old man dressed Naruto up in dark clothing, clothing which reminded the blond of Itachi with colours that reminded him of Itachi, and brought the boy to the funeral. The villagers stood together, crying as the sun shone brightly, mourning for the loss of the Uchiha Clan but the boy, as he stood near the back of the crowd, could not understand.

They spoke all together, like confused cows bellowing in the barn, puzzled over why Itachi did it. "How could he kill his own family?" they spat out. They were unkind and vicious as they called Itachi the demon and Naruto bristled at that although he didn't act. "How could he do this to his brother?" they asked, murmuring like a crowd of gossips. "His mother's in the hospital apparently. Poor Mikoto. Too bad she gave birth to a demon," they said.

The child took no pleasure in the fact that they now put Itachi in the same group as him: the Demon. He wanted to defend the older boy. He wanted to say, "If Itachi killed them, he probably had a reason!" but he didn't because he knew better. Itachi had taught him things, once upon a time.

"It's better to hold back until you have the strength to defend yourself Naruto-kun. That time will come eventually. So until then, wait so that you may defend your honour later."

The blond boy clenches the edges of his black shirt tightly as tears trickled down his scarred cheeks.

"Itachi, I'll protect you," he swore to himself.

When he looked up at the people saying their last goodbyes to the dead Uchiha, the blond boy saw a boy his age and recognised him as Sasuke from his class. Naruto deduced that Sasuke must be the brother that survived. He was crying, his eyes red and his nose was running. It was nothing like the Sasuke whom Naruto was familiar with.

Naruto couldn't comfort him. He didn't think that he wanted to when he saw the hatred drowning the sorrow in the young Uchiha's eyes.

* * *

One night during the Third's weekly visits, the blond boy spoke up over dinner. He swallowed his mouthful of rice and fish before he said, "I want to be strong, Jiji. I want to protect Itachi."

He said it with a soft _sureness_ that shook the Hokage's heart.

"But Itachi doesn't need protecting," said the Hokage after a moment's hesitation. There were things that the Hokage knew which Naruto didn't and the old man couldn't blame anyone. He was just a child after all, just an almost-seven-year-old child.

"He does jiji," said Naruto and the conversation ended there.

* * *

It was slightly after the Uchiha Clan's demise that Naruto attracted more unwanted attention. He had become Sasuke's target and method of temporarily venting his frustration. He wasn't a bully and he didn't beat Naruto up and he couldn't if Naruto wouldn't let him but Sasuke was treated like a prince and what he said went. It was as simple as that. Sasuke became top of the class, striving harder than he never did before as if proving to an invisible person that "Look! I'm strong!" and "I'll kill you, one day."

The blond was ignored, mocked and laughed at by the other children because he was such a contrast against the Uchiha. He thought, "Sasuke's not the _last_ Uchiha. Itachi's out there and he's suffering while Sasuke gets treated like royalty." He wanted to say, "All the Uchiha are dirty and they deserved it! Itachi's always right. He knows what he's doing! All of you are protected by the dirtying of his hands!" but he remained silent.

The blond changed his exterior. If the people wanted him to be dumb and the dead last, he could be. It was easy after all. It made him bristle and it made him hurt but Naruto knew that he was stronger than that.

(Yet, a small part of him didn't know what was real anymore when he saw Sasuke's eyes light up a fraction with every insult thrown his way.)

* * *

**author's note:**

Thanks for reading! If it pleases you, I hope that you'll drop a comment and tell me that you enjoyed it. :)

It's a little confusing I guess but I haven't written in the third point of view in ages, haha. My favourite is the second point of view that doesn't really fit well with anything. :(

- K.T.


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